Daughter of a regional minster of sport in Russia is heading to the Canadian Olympic team
On February 7, 2019, TV broadcaster Altay announced that Alina Perfileva, a junior rhythmic gymnast from the Altay region, is changing her athletic citizenship and moving to Canada.
The bottom line of the report is that leading athletes from the region move not just somewhere else in Russia but abroad. However, the story of this particular 15-year-old girl attracts more attention because of her father who happens to be the Minister of Sport in this area. According to him, she is just getting international experience in Canada and will come back to Russia because rhythmic gymnastics is popular in this country. At the same time, her former Altay coach says that the decision was made based on competitive levels in Russia and in Canada. It feels like it will be easier for Alina to become a part of the Canadian Olympic team than the Russian team.
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Meanwhile, this Russian gymnast has not just relocated to Canada. As reported by TV Altay, she received an invitation to join a Canadian club in Toronto, ON, two years ago after proving her skills during competition. Today, she is listed as a national junior of the 2018 high-performance team of one of the oldest and largest rhythmic gymnastics schools in Canada, Kalev Estienne. Alina is trained by Svetlana Joukova, the Kalev’s national head coach, getting ready for the 2019 Koop Cup which will take place in Toronto April 25-28.
